Online Norwegian courses using the Kompetansesenter proprietary method

Here, we teach with passion. We don’t teach routinely; each lesson offers something unexpected. We don’t “repeat textbooks.” We strive to keep students’ attention throughout the entire lesson, so the lesson must be engaging. One of our main goals is to teach them to think in Norwegian, avoid translating from native language to Norwegian and vice versa, and avoid copying of native grammar. Daily learning immerses you in the Norwegian language. Artificial Intelligence calls this “language immersion.”

Maybe so, but you should first check the teacher’s teaching skills. You might think they speak Norwegian fluently, but is it a beautiful and accurate language? After all, if they speak too fast or too slow, don’t speak elegantly, or have a strong local dialect, you won’t find it out anyway. Can they teach? Do they know what to do during a lesson? How to respond to unexpected questions? Can they explain grammar in a simple way, so it doesn’t seem like black magic? And one more thing you might not know: Norwegian teachers are taught not to criticize or judge students and tend to not correct their mistakes. So, will a Norwegian “native speaker” have the courage to break the barrier of correctness they’ve acquired throughout their education and correct your mistakes? Will they take on the task of shaping your pronunciation? Well… not every true Norwegian can be a good Norwegian teacher.

Since 2008, I’ve been teaching a monthly course with five lessons a day, which resulted in truly “rocket-class progress” (we did 100 lessons a month). This is how it was taught and still is at the Rosenhof Voksenopplæring language center in Oslo. We drew on their many years of experience teaching foreigners to design our intensive courses.

Our courses gave incomparably faster and lasting longer results than the popular courses at “Folkeuniversitetet” in Norway. After 3-4 months, students were ready to work with Norwegian clients in a Norwegian environment, and after 9-12 months, they were able to pass the B2/C1 exam. We are currently also offering one or two hours of instruction per day, five times a week.

In this mode, a big part of students forget as they learn. In our opinion, such a course can only maintain language use at a previously acquired level, but it’s difficult to progress.

Indeed, daily meetings cost more than weekly meetings. However, if your goal is to get a good job, the answer is clear: it’s better to have that position in a few months than nobody knows when. After 300 lessons, which cost 36 000-45 000 NOK, you go to work in Norway and earn money. If you think this is too much of an investment, don’t invest in learning Norwegian.

• It’s best to learn Norwegian without working, with part-time work, or with flexible online working hours. If this is your situation, you can reach a B1 level in four months with an intensive daily course.
• If you’re a high school or university student, you can use your summer break to learn Norwegian.
• If you work a rotating shift, try studying with your colleagues every morning during the weeks you’re home.
• If you already have a job in Norway, force yourself to sign up for a daily evening course and hope you don’t fall asleep. We’ve had many such students, and they made good progress.

Many couples have studied with us and now live happily in Norway. They haven’t heard any unpleasant or malicious comments from Norwegians. They live well in Norwegian circles. They find jobs with Norwegians without any major problems. The Child Protection Office (the infamous Barnevernet—rightly so, in our opinion) has never been interested in how they raise their children. In any situation, at preschool or school, they can communicate so well with the teacher and counselor that no one interferes in their home life. In our opinion, anyone living with a child in Norway and not speaking Norwegian well is playing with fire. I have five children, three of whom were born in Norway and I have my own experience, not only others’.

We thought that learning had to begin in the classroom, and only at a higher level could we learn effectively online. We’d been practicing this learning system since 2010. However, we conducted pilot courses at lower levels, and in spring 2020, when classes were closed, we were ready to move all classes (including those “from scratch”) online. It turned out that “it works”! The number of satisfied graduates who have passed the B2 exam, whom we’ve never seen “in person,” is growing. This means we can teach pronunciation, conversation, and writing online. It can be done!

In recent years, we have taught over a dozen high school students who are now studying in Norway. A language certificate with a B2 level is required for admission. To achieve this level, you must choose one of two paths: take a very intensive course after your final exams, or while attending high school, learn Norwegian in the evenings and/or during the summer.

We have also had teenage students attending school in Norway enrolled in our courses and their goal was to improve their language skills.

Yes.